cedar’s blog

Cedar May 16th, 2007

Yesterday I was playing around with paint, and what started out as an aimless play session (which I sometimes do to loosen up and stop being so serious) ended up yielding some abstract paintings that I rather like. I call them “cells” because they are made up of rough rectangular shapes fit together, and remind me of plant cells under a microscope.

These are all 16″ x 20″ and oil on canvas:

Cells 1

Cells 2

Cells 3

They are not for sale just yet, but probably will be in the future. (I like them and want to keep them for myself for a while.)

I planted a rosebush in my front yard last week. The variety is called the Peace Rose. When I planted it, it had a few tiny little green flower buds. All I did was plant it, give it some compost, and water it every day. Now look at it!! I think I want to grow some different kinds of roses now.

My Peace Roses inspired this simple little painting, which was also part of the play session, which also turned out to be something worth keeping:

Rose
28″ x 14″ Oil on Canvas

If you’ve ever heard the term “gallery-wrapped canvas” and you don’t know what it means, this is an example of a gallery-wrapped canvas. The canvas is stretched around a deep wooden frame, (made of “stretcher bars” or “strainers”) and stapled on the back rather than on the side, so that the side is covered in staple-free canvas. Normally when using a gallery-wrapped canvas, I continue the painting onto the edges of the canvas. I really like the visual effect of this–simple, clean, and modern–when hung on a wall.

No frame is needed for this type of canvas. If I frame a painting, it will be either a simple wooden or satin black strip frame. I have some kind of deep-seated revulsion to fancy, ornate frames, especially if they’re gold-tone. The more ornate the frame, the stronger my revulsion. I can’t explain this–it just doesn’t mesh with my aesthetic.

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